Comic Era's: Why did they Fail?

[ray gower]

The Golden Age of American Comics, spearheaded by Superman, Batman and Wonderwoman, is commonly accepted to have lasted from the late '30's until the early '50's.

The Silver Age from the early '60's until the latish 70's. This time launched by Marvel, with the X-Men, whilst DC resorted to its vaults and resurrected Superman.

Whilst they are referred to as 'American' ages, they happily coincide with similar rises and falls on the European side of the Atlantic.

Both ages started with the goal of capturing the 'teen market', then fell by the wayside, with a lot of the production companies going with them.

Why?

When can we expect the next 'Great Age'?

 

[ZachWZ]

A lot of fans used the term Bronze age here in the US. To descried comics from the 70's to the mid eighties here a list I have seen used to some sites.

MARVEL

Golden age Anything before Fantastic Four.

Silver Age FF#1 until Kirby left.

Bronze Kirby's depature to the Marvel super Hero Secret Wars.

present Secret wars since.

DC

Silver Showcase until Julie Scharz took over Superman.
Bronze-up until the Crisis on infinite earhts, Watchmen, Dark Knight Returns which are in the present.


We can expect the next Great age. when more firings occur at Marvel and DC. Or a new guy master the newsstand market. Don't hold your breath.

ZachWZ

 

[ray gower]

You mean I missed it?

The Seventys comics I always thought of as merely the twilight years of the Silver age. I am not aware of a great upsurge in popularity of any kind. More of a violent death struggle to be honest.

 

[ray gower]

The most commonly quoted reason for the death of the Age's of American comics is that they became too violent for their intended audience, prompting a major backlash by parental power.

This may be the case, in the US. Looking at the few I still own they were pretty grim. It does not however explain the collapse of the comic market in the UK.

By and large UK comics always managed to remain linked to the audience they started out with. Thus a a comic for a twelve year-old in 1941 remained suitable for a twelve year-old in 1956.

In the US a comic started off as a juvenile comic, but by the end of the age it was only suitable for the same twelve year-old it started with fifteen years previously.

Would it be too glib to suggest that the writers simply ran out of ideas?

Possibly, though again this would be easier to level at the US, where the characters are kept through a multitude of incarnations and the comics themselves grow old with the readers.

In the UK comics had a tradition of variety. New series and characters came and went but the comic titles never changed. With the constantly changing audience even old stories could be recycled with some ease.